


It will not die

by ripplegrin



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: Phyrexians, Simic, oc fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 18:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17350049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ripplegrin/pseuds/ripplegrin
Summary: During Teague's early days of being a walker, he thinks about how different he is from other walkers. And people for that matter.





	It will not die

Pain, feeling, eating. It’s what makes a person feel alive.

Everyone knew about them. Monsters that existed to kill like beasts. The weak were worthless and only the strong survive. Fairly normal for the tangle. Back then, I am… Was a sylvok, living among my people and trying our damndest to survive against the endless onslaught of those predators. The phyrexians were an unstoppable force, especially in the tangle. We made a small settlement that would only be hidden from them for as long as we had the skill to work well. One of our people left and never returned. The next day, what I dreaded for so long happened, the top of the food chain arrived. Vorinclex along with hundreds of his weaker kind.

He was massive, ate some of the people like berries, outran the best runners we had. I fought with some others, but he ran us through. The beasts he brought ignored us and went for those that wouldn’t or couldn’t fight. I had two younger brothers. Most of the fighting force fell but I survived and didn’t stop fighting. He did and laughed all the while. Grabbed me by the scruff and dragged me along to this strange corrupted clearing. He worked on me and I left. The scream was drowned out by me drowning in a pool. The taste of frog, lizard and fish assaulted my senses as I feel asleep.

Pain, Feeling, eating. It’s what makes a person feel alive.

I woke up on a bed of leaves, biomancy tubing and cytoplasts. The so-called simic biomancers of elven, merfolk and human genes spoke of how I appeared out of nowhere, how I was a genetic miracle and of the strange thing where my spine was. I felt it and ran to something that could show me. It was a mix of mycosynth and the hideous flesh of the beast that almost killed me. Anger was the emotion I felt, they tried to subdue me with blades and magic but… it hurt for a moment. The anger flushed from my body and tears replaced it. No one was hurt. No one. The tears fled too. They looked at me as though I was the greatest mutated creation ever made. I was a monster.

Pain, Feeling, eating. It’s what makes a person feel alive.

I stayed there for a few days, or rather, I couldn’t leave for a few days. They gave me a wide berth, didn’t want to play with the freak of the week. I memorized the halls. A growth chamber, like the one I fell in, every 10 doors then every 4, repeating. I finally left and explored the rest of the world of cities they called Ravnica. A group called the rakdos tried to force me to play a game, I refused, and they attacked. Bladed fingers slashed at my cheek and stomach. A groan then a noise of confusion followed by fear. They tried again and again and again. The blades broke, they screamed and fled. I felt… nothing but a hunger. I ran to the closest tavern, brought some food, and tried to keep it down. Tasteless, plain, like wood dust.

Pain, Feeling, eating. It’s what makes a person feel alive.

I still wander. Not out of want or anything. It gives me something to focus on. Pain gets drowned out. My emotions die out like the people who attack me. Taste is something of a fond memory unless I cover it with enough spices to make a hellkite blush. I’ve been told planeswalking is a gift among people, but I’ve found it’s a pointless endeavor for someone who can’t feel.

Pain, Feeling, eating. It’s what makes a person feel alive. 

Does that mean I’m even alive now?


End file.
